New York agencies release outline for complying with climate law

New York — New York state agencies said 42,858 GWh of incremental renewable energy production capacity must be deployed by 2030 through the state's offshore wind and renewable energy standards collectively to comply with what they describe as the most ambitious clean energy law in the US.

"Governor Cuomo's visionary climate and energy legislation requires us to build smart, economic renewable energy at greater scale and at a much faster pace so as to deliver the just, clean, resilient and affordable energy system that New Yorkers need," Department of Public Service CEO John Rhodes said in a June 18 statement.

The statement was made to highlight the release of a white paper (15-E-0302) by the New York Energy Research and Development Authority and DPS staff that outlines how the state plans to meet the mandates set forth in the climate law.

The paper was released exactly one year after Cuomo signed the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act, which went into effect January 1, 2020. The law requires renewable energy resources to serve at least 70% of New York's load in 2030 (70 by 30) and ensure there are zero emissions in 2040 associated with power demand.

The CLCPA also requires the deployment of 6 GW of photovoltaic solar generation by 2025, 3 GW of energy storage resources by 2030 and at least 9 GW of offshore wind by 2035 from 0 MW of offshore wind today.

The agencies said the compliance plan will use the existing regulatory and procurement structure established under the Public Service Commission's Clean Energy Standard to meet the 70 by 30 target and set the state on a "rapid and irreversible path to achieve the 2040 zero emission target."

The CES policy will need to be modified to align with the CLCPA, the agencies noted.

Compliance details

Multiplying the 2030 load projection of 151,678 GWh by 70% yields an estimated 106,174 GWh of renewable electricity that must be operating in 2030 to meet the target and 63,317 GWh/year is already either in operation, under contract or separately determined by statute, according to the paper.

Subtracting the 63,317 GWh/year from the 2030 target of 106,174 GWh yields 42,858 GWh/year. Renewable energy generation statewide in 2019 including hydropower, pumped hydro and other renewables was 33,424 GWh, according to the New York Independent System Operator.

For offshore wind, the agencies propose a procurement schedule that averages just under 1 GW annually through 2027 which is designed to meet the 9 GW CLCPA requirement by 2035.

This includes "time for make-up procurements should one or more selected project fail to develop as proposed," according to the paper.

NYSERDA and DPS staff estimate that by adhering to this schedule, an "appropriately conservative" estimate of total offshore wind capacity that will be online by 2030 is 5.8 GW, producing an estimated 17,868 GWh/year incremental to the projects already contracted.

The state currently has 7,985 GWh/year of offshore wind contracted. Subtracting the estimated 17,868 GWh/year of additional offshore wind energy from the overall total of 42,858 GWh/year, results in an estimated balance of 24,990 GWh/year that must be realized through other RES programs, according to the paper.

New offshore wind procurements and remaining RES procurements account for the majority of incremental renewable energy output needed to reach the 70% goal, with each contributing 11.8% and 16.5% respectively toward that 2030 target.

The agencies estimate the incremental Tier 1 and offshore wind procurements would lead to a levelized impact on utility ratepayer electricity bills of $13.92 annually. Taking into account the value of avoided carbon dioxide emissions, the procurements are estimated to yield a net benefit of around $7.7 billion over the lifetime of the projects, the paper said.

With regard to New York's downstate region, offshore wind and other zero-emission energy located close to the state's two largest load pockets -- New York City and Long Island -- could cause significant improvements local air quality and public health, the agencies said.

"NYSERDA and Staff believe that these key findings reaffirm the positive impact of the CLCPA targets," the paper said.